The Grounds of the City: Old-school charm in Sydney's CBD

Upon entering The Grounds of the City, you'd be forgiven for thinking you've just stepped onto the set of Titanic, with its red velvet bar seats, copper taps, vintage crockery and all things antique.

​Set inside The Galeries in the Sydney CBD, it's the sister venue to The Grounds of Alexandria, one of Sydney's most Insta-famous cafés, with its luscious garden and petting farm animals like Kevin Bacon and Margoat Robbie.

Due to its popularity, wait times at The Grounds are extensive and can be as long as 45 minutes. Luckily, I score a seat at the bar within minutes. It's not a bad view; I happily watch the staff craft food and drinks with expert skill, dressed immaculately in their old-fashioned brown vests and rolled-up shirts.

There's everything you can want from a café on their menu. The food offerings are glorious and extravagant. Breakfast ranges from buttermilk pancake with lemon ricotta and organic honeycomb ($14), to a Brekkie Bowl with quinoa, 63-degree egg, haloumi and kale pesto ($19), to everyone's favourite, avocado on sourdough toast ($8). Lunch is an equally mouth-watering array of gourmet grilled meat and seafood dishes, burgers and pasta.

Their drinks menu is just as extensive, with a huge selection of coffees to cater for any coffee connoisseur (AKA every second person in Sydney), bottomless teas (yes!), fresh juices and smoothies, house-made sodas, and cocktails, beers and wines from 10 am (because why not).

I opt for a latte with their house-made macadamia milk. The serving size is generous, and it's rich and creamy with a nutty afternote. Even dairy milk coffee drinkers would be hard-pressed to criticise it.

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